Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-03-02
Letter from Florida.
DUNEDIN, Fla, Feb'y %, 1887.

DUNEDIN, Fla, Feb'y %, 1887
Editor Republican.
DEAR SIR:-Some three years ago l prom ised
you letter about my experience or my opinion
OF Florida and her oranges. AS have Just re-
turned from trip through a part of the state,
and from visit to the South Florida EXPOSE
ton, l think 1t good time to redeem that pro-
mise long neglected, but not forgotten. So much
has been said of Florida and her fruits, her eli
mate, her soil and her people that my mite will
not add much to it, only the opinion Of an old
WATERFOWL boy
Florida has been auded to the skies and
abused to the other extremo She is not Para
disc and because she is not, many have written
unfairly of her and of what she boasts Of To
appreciate her, come now. She has her climate,
her oranges. her lemons, her pine apples ba-
nannas, in their season, and many other fruits
such as peen-to and honly peaches. guavas,
lines, plums, Avocado pears persimmons,
strawberries. etc She has some drawbacks,
such as. lack of labor. at times surplus of in
sects. though these are not nearly as bad as
many suppose.
The disadvantages common to all new coun-
tries are to. he found here but they are in
milder degree and will soon be banished by the
will Another of the drawbacks feared by many
is the danger of great freeze. We don't want
any more like that oil last year but if you could
have gone with me through Horticultural Hall
you would have wondered if there really had
been such freeze after all There were oranges,
lemons, bananas, pine apples, guaVas, citrons,
and all manner of fruits. One of the finest ex-
hibits Of fruits was made by the Rev. lyman
Phelps, of Sanford, formerly of Watertown, Wis.
Some of your Episcopalians may remember him.
He has large grove at Sanford and is one of
the best informed men on citrus culture thatw
have in Florida. He had about thirty varieties
of oranges and three varieties of lemons il his
display. They were pretty sight and as delici-
Gus as they looked. He classes the Jaffar as the
finest OF oranges, and with good reason. His
lemons were very fine. In the next few years
many lemon trees will be set in South Florida.
The fruit is ready for market in August, Sep
TENDER and October.
The lemon is picked when it reaches certain
size, 1t is then cured and marketed at pleasure
as it is great keeper. 1t is only within the last
few years that the finer varieties, the true le-
mons of commerce, have been introduced.
We know now that these varieties are hardy
here since they withstood the greatest cold
Florida ever had. Our orangeaEd lemon trees
are now in bloom and some of them are nearly
white with their blossoms. The lemon blossom
has purple tinge, while the orange is pure
white.
10 many groves the crop has not been gathered
yet. but the new crop comes just the same. That
is the great advantage possessed by the orange
grower over growers of such fruit as the peach.
- Co. e.
ripe.
Speaking of peaches we are doing something
in that line-I know two nurserymen who
planted-one forty-two and one thirty
bushels of peach seed to meet the demand for
trees. know many others who will have so, 600
trees to sell and yet will not meet the call. From
the peen-to or fat peach of China has sprung
class of tropical peaches, which bloom in Janu-
airy, and ripen in early May. This gives the
Florida peaches the earliest market and the top
price. The plan for q grove is to plant orange
trees from twenty-sns to twenty-five feet apart
and put the peach tress in between, thus econ.
omizing space. The orange takes much longer
to reach bearing size and age than the peach.
The former from five to eight years the latter
from two to three.
Besides citrus fruits there was much to be seen
Of Florida products in the way Of corn. OATS
hay. cassavs, sQuashes, tomatoes, csbbages etc.
Pecan culture has Of late attracted special at
tention and there were many fine specimens Of
Florida grown nuts shown. The pecan does
well here and will be good investment for all
who develop their beginnings. Many men fail
in orange culture because they cannot make
grove by setting it out and then "setting" them
selv es down to look at it. The orange-grower
has to work and work hard For instance, our
grove has been worked four times within two
months, three times within the last month. and
we will continue to work it once in four weeks
for some months to come. A grove has to be
pruned and washed, and fertilized and cultured
thoroughly to get the best results.
I must not write too much. On the cars, bound
for home, was pleasantly surprised to meet
some former Watertown people-Mr. and Mrs.
H. Manville. / enjoyed my visit with them very
much. They:were on their way to Cuba.
Yours truly.
l.. B. SKINNER.
Don't forget the teachers institute